Your Guardian Angel
by DesperateWhisper
Summary: Two years into marriage, Beck and Jade are finally ready to adopt a child.
1. Chapter 1

_I will never let you fall, _

_I'll stand up with you forever. _

_I'll be there for you, through it all_

_Even if saving you sends me to heaven. _

* * *

"I'm not going."

Beck had been extra giddy these past few days because Jade, his wife of two years (and counting), had finally agreed on starting a family on one condition: she's not pushing anything out of her hoo-haa (which was strange considering that she had no aversion at all towards anything that may cause her any bodily harm).

"What? Why not? I couldn't just go there all by myself." Beck was this close to pouting.

"I think you can."

"I don't think it would be that bad." He said, sitting down next to his wife on the bed.

"I think it is." She said it without a hint of doubt in her voice. "I mean, a dog's so much easier than a kid, and you've been telling me since high school that you've always wanted a dog. Why don't we just get a dog?"

With a small smile, he responded, "I know they're easier, but they're a whole lot different from kids, babe. And since you told me clearly that you don't want to go through the whole labor thing, might as well we give someone else's unwanted child a good home and a family."

She never even thought about it that way. In her mind, she thought that orphanages are where people just shove some random kids in there. She knew, but never really bothered to care, that some, if not all of these children were victims of neglect or abandon or abuse. These children are broken beyond repair.

These children were just like her.

With a strangled sigh, she stood up to get her signature Doc Martens.

"The kid has to be a girl. And potty trained. I'm not up for wiping penises and changing diapers."

"Thank you," Beck grinned, kissing her forehead.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just go before I change my mind."

* * *

"I change my mind. Let's go back home."

Beck was just in the middle of parking when Jade bluntly pointed out her distaste. The orphanage looked pretty decent, but what threw Jade off was the amount of _bright, blinding _colors painted on the walls.

"I'm not going to be caught dead walking in a kiddie funhouse." She deadpanned, not even bothering to unbuckle her seatbelt.

"But you agreed to it."

"It wasn't set in stone."

"But words can't be taken back. Once they're out, you can't take them back in." Beck challenged.

He's been learning the ways of the retort master.

With a small growl, she unbuckled her seatbelt as she grumbled, "Fine."

"Thanks. Hey, at least you get to pick her out." Beck smiled, stepping out from his side of the car.

"Pick her out? She's not a dog, Beck."

"And now you're becoming defensive." He teased, wrapping his arm around her waist.

Jade rolled her eyes.

"Hello?" Beck called once the couple was inside. Children were running around the place and Jade had half a mind to actually leave Beck there and make a run for it while she can.

"Oh, hello! What can I do for you?" An old lady who looked as if she's less than a year from claiming her senior citizen status greeted the two. She was pretty hefty; she looked nice but Jade felt in her gut that the lady couldn't be trusted.

"Hey, yeah. Um, we're looking for someone to adopt." Beck grinned kindly at the lady. Jade was about to retort something sarcastic until a little teddy bear flew over and landed on her boot.

"Do you have anyone in mind?" The lady asked more to Beck than Jade because right at that time, Jade was picking up the bear that rolled down from her boot to a heap on the floor.

"Yeah, um, we want a girl. Not too old, and not a baby, either." Beck said, and Jade nods in approval but looked rather interested in the bear that was in her hands. It was brown and tattered and old, and she saw that a bit of polyester filling was peeking from its ripped ear. It probably had never seen the light of day. Or a washing machine.

In a daze from examining the thing in her hands, a little boy snatched the bear from Jade's grasp and scampered off to another room. She heard loud, rambunctious laughter and the sound of something ripping.

And then a muffled whimper.

Since Beck and the lady were too deep into their conversation, they were not able to notice the sound. Making sure that the two were occupied, she managed to escape the scene and went on the find the child who owned the sound that made her care.

The place was relatively small; just two wings separating the boys and the girls and a playroom in the middle, behind the front desk.

The playroom was deserted except for the boy who she immediately recognized as the one who snatched the bear from her and a few of his friends.

She heard more whimpering when she watched the boys playing a four-way tug of war with the now headless bear's arms and legs, willing for them to rip.

She tried to search around the room and her eyes finally locked on a little thing sitting on the floor. The kid looked no older than four or five. She had a little white dress on but Jade noticed that the front of her dress was dirty. She had her brown hair done in messy pigtails and her grey eyes shone with tears as she watched the boys do some serious damage on the bear.

"Hello," Jade tried to soften her voice so as not to scare her away. "What's your name?"

The girl stared straight ahead as if she didn't hear her.

Jade, ever stubborn, instead of snapping or going away, simply sat down next to the girl. Not too close that she'd already be invading her personal space, but not too far away either.

A lone tear rolled down the girl's cheek.

"That's my bear," She whispered so softly that Jade was already straining her ears so that she could hear her voice. Jade looked from the child to the boys who were currently playing with the bear's stuffing then back to her. "They taked my bear when I was 'sleep here."

"Why didn't you take it from them, then?" Jade urged, feeling downright sorry for this kid that she didn't know if it was even normal for her.

The child shook her head.

The boys were finally gone, but they left the remnants of the bear all around the room.

"_My bear_," the child whimpered, more tears finding their way down her cheeks when she assessed the condition of her beloved toy.

Jade could feel her heart aching.

"Come on, I think we can still fix it," Jade said, uncharacteristically optimistic as she proceeded to stand up and gather the remnants of the bear but the child's gentle hold on her wrist made her stop in her tracks.

"S'okay," The child said, though judging her face and body language told Jade otherwise. "Stay with me, pwease?" She lisped.

Jade sat back down, but a bit closer to the child now.

"Um, I can get you a new one," Jade offered awkwardly. She wasn't exactly used to this kind of interaction. "If you want, I mean."

"You'll do that for me?" The child's eyes twinkled and jade made a mental note to make sure that the sparkle in her eyes happens again.

"Yeah, I can." Jade sort of smiled. "My name's Jade."

"Sophia." She replied. "Will you come back, Jade?"

She was unsure when she'll ever get to visit again, but so as not to crush the child's hopes, she replied with certainty, "Yeah, I will."

"Can you take me with you next time, Jade? I don't like it here."

Jade could see why.

"I don't know if I can bring you back to my home the next time I visit, but I can promise to bring you something really nice when I do."

With a small smile, Sophia scooted closer to her.

"Hey, I have someone I want you to meet." Jade said, standing up from the floor. "Can you come with me?"

Sophia shook her head rapidly and started clenching and unclenching her fists for some reason.

"Hey, babe." Jade recognized the voice and spun around to find Beck smiling at her. "Found someone you like?"

"Oh, I found someone alright," Jade smirked, looking back at Sophia and giving her a wink. The little girl giggled cutely when she saw that the motion was directed towards her.

"Aww, who's this little cutie?" Beck crooned, kneeling down to the child's level. The lady from the front desk just shook her head.

"That kid's name's Rosetta," The lady said indifferently.

"It's Sophia," Jade corrected. Jade's vibe was right all along.

Shrugging, the lady continued on. "You wouldn't want her, trust me."

"Yeah, and why's that?" Jade countered, feeling protective over the child immediately.

"She can't walk. She's paralyzed from the waist down. Too much work." The old lady said. "We have better and healthy children outside playing, if you would like to see them." She continued before walking out.

Ignoring the lady, Jade sat back down next to Sophia who was this close to letting the waterworks out again. Beck sat down in front of them, eager to watch his wife bring out her maternal side.

"Is that why you won't follow me earlier?" Jade asked gently, hesitantly putting her arm around her shoulders. It was a stupid question, but she didn't know what else to say. Sophia nodded and looked down.

"How do you get around? Don't you have a wheel chair or something?" Beck asked.

Sophia shook her head this time. "I crawl on my hands. People carry me sometimes but they're mean. They let me fall." She admitted.

Jade looked at Sophia's dress once again and understood now why it was so dirty.

Tears flowed some more.

"Do you still want me?" Sophia asked, her tone serious but her voice was shaking from fear of rejection. With Jade's heart breaking, she embraced the child and very carefully, transferred the child to her lap.

"Of course we do." Jade said, and right after that, she stood up with the child in her arms, one hand wrapped around her back and the other under her knees. Sophia clutched Jade's neck tightly, afraid of impact from the floor that she was certain that she was going to face.

Caught up in the moment, Jade leaned down and kissed the little girl's forehead.

"I won't ever let you fall, Sophia. I got you."

* * *

**Hey, I don't know. We just had tests, and what I usually do when I finish early is write or doodle on random pieces of paper. This had been churning in my head for quite some time but honestly I never really could capture mean Jade quite as well as other people can. This little thing was written after my English and Accounting tests. **

**Please do tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best! **


	2. Chapter 2

**This is me giving in to reader pressure. I don't think this story would be too long, though, but I'll try my best.**

* * *

Days have passed and hours have gone, and Jade had been gradually immersing herself into deep research, specifically about paralysis and therapy.

This both scared and delighted Beck.

He was scared shitless of what his wife had been looking up. There were so many terms and facts that Jade had been spewing left and right about the topic, and he couldn't really do anything else but nod in agreement or hum as if he understood perfectly what she said.

But on a lighter note, this was also the first time when Jade actually showed that she cared about someone other than herself or her husband. It was refreshing and actually adorable for Beck to see his wife talking about this defenseless child with such high regards that one would think that she was talking about a princess.

Well, in Jade's eyes, she was.

Beck and Jade were eating their dinner in comfortable silence with the spoons and forks clinking on the china plates serving as their music. It was a rare time when they would actually sit on the dining table and have some quality time together, a cause being their demanding schedules, Beck's, most especially. And given the opportunity, they were taking their sweet time chewing and swallowing their food in each other's presence.

"I'm visiting Sophia tomorrow," Jade announced, breaking the silence. "I promised her I would."

Even up until now, she was still trying to stomach the feeling she gets every time she thinks about the child that she had met two weeks ago. No one has managed to bring Jade down to their whim until this child came into her life.

Beck sort of smiled. "Do you want me to drop you off? I have to be on set by around 8 am, so I've got time."

"I'll manage. I have to run a few errands before dropping by." She said, taking a bite out of her steak right after.

"You really like her, don't you?" Beck said, scratching the back of his head, a mannerism that surfaced only when he's uncertain about something.

"I do. What's the problem?" Jade asked immediately, catching her husband's nervous gesture.

"Do you want to adopt her? I mean, she's an adorable girl, but she's kind of . . ." He trailed off, not knowing what to say without Jade going ballistic. Or satanic. She's extremely defensive of Sophia for some reason.

"She's kind of what?" Jade challenged, setting her utensils down.

Beck breathed heavily, wincing at his wife's actions. '_She'll have my balls on a plate. I just know it.'_ He thought, wringing his fists nervously.

"Hard to handle."

"If she's hard to handle, then what would that make me?" Jade mused, but her voice wasn't exactly playful.

"No, I mean – um, it's just that," Beck stammered. The gods of coherency weren't on his side today. "She's probably got a rough background."

"She's four. Not much could have happened."

"She's broken." Beck regretted his words once they were out of his mouth. Jade didn't seem to catch his remorse because she was too busy feeling livid.

"She's not broken. She's perfect." Jade argued, her voice sharp and certain. She huffed in annoyance; her appetite was gone.

"I was pretty broken when you found me, and she was 'broken' when we found her. We'll give her support and love and all the things that you gave me." She reasoned. "So if you're still thinking twice about adopting Sophia, you'll be sleeping on the couch until you accept her as she is."

"Jade, I—,"

"Starting now."

* * *

Jade took in deep breaths as she parked the car. She's never been here _willingly. _It was stupid; it was useless, and just downright embarrassing. But she then reminded herself why she was here in the first place.

When she entered the store, she squinted her eyes, trying to adjust to the unnecessarily bright light illuminating the place. Rows of toys were fixed neatly, aisle after every aisle overflowing with different kinds of toys that she never even heard of before.

"Hey, could you point me to the teddy bears?" Jade asked a sales lady who was standing by, almost hovering. She nodded and led her to the middle aisle where teddy bears and stuffed animals of different species were on shelves all lined up.

She walked slowly through the aisle, looking for a bear that closely resembles Sophia's murdered one. _Too big, too small, too fuzzy, too bald, too hard, too freaky. _None of them met Jade's standards. She was about to give up when she spotted the perfect one at the end of the aisle, and on the bottom shelf.

_The good ones are always hidden, _She thought, and then she realized that it applied to Sophia as well.

It was a brown, medium sized bear. The eyes and nose were embroidered instead of stitched on, the fur of the bear felt like textured velvet, and it looked durable enough for it to last even after a good tugging, and it wasn't as hard as rocks as well.

She picked the bear up and saw that the paw of a smaller version of the bear was attached to the paw of the original one. Toying with it a bit, she found that it was detachable. _Perfect. _

She quickly paid for the bear, had it gift wrapped, and then drove towards the orphanage.

* * *

Stepping inside the orphanage for the second time, she walked towards the not-to-be-trusted senior citizen who ran the place. She hid the gift bag behind her back, just in case Sophia came crawling in or something.

"Where's Sophia?" Jade asked, trying her best to be polite; it took all of her willpower to.

"Don't know." She said, not even looking up.

Jade let herself in, checking in the playroom first. _Not here. _She moved towards the girls' wing of the orphanage. A few of the doors were open, so she checked those ones first. _No luck. _She tried opening the closed doors but all of them were locked.

She moved around some more, finding herself in the kitchen. It was a little run down, but it was clean. Jade's fuse was already burning short.

"Sophia?" Jade tried calling out, walking around the area. In the kitchen, in the play area, and then in the girls' wing again. She was about to check outside when she felt something pressing down on her boot. She looked down and smiled a bit.

"Jade, you came back!" Sophia grinned cutely, sitting herself up and hugging her calf.

"I told you I would." Jade said, picking the child up in her arms, leaving the gift bag on the floor. Sophia was still traumatized with the falls that she had encountered in her short life so she wrapped her arms tightly around Jade's neck.

Jade's grip tightened around Sophia, squeezing her playfully a bit before sitting down on the floor with her on her lap.

"I got you something," Jade toyed with the paper bag a bit, nervous about her gift. "I, um, got you another one."

Sophia carefully opened the gift bag, trying not to rip anything. She's never received a gift before. Or if she ever did, she couldn't remember. Once she took the bear (or technically, bears) from the bag, she squealed and smiled bigger than she ever did in her whole life.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sophia smiled hugely, hugging Jade's middle. Her arms were short; she couldn't wrap her arms completely around the woman who was so nice to her.

Jade hesitantly placed a small kiss on her forehead.

"This is the mommy bear and this is the baby bear." Sophia told Jade, pointing at the bears. Jade only nodded.

The child hugged the bear close to her, and then toyed with the smaller bear. She detached the smaller one from the bigger one, and then offered the smaller bear to Jade.

"Yours." Sophia said, placing it in Jade's hand.

"Thanks," She said awkwardly. She did not think this through. "But this is yours. Both the big one and the small one."

"Mommy bear and baby bear." Sophia corrected.

"Yeah, sure."

"I'll name the mommy bear Jade." Sophia decided instantly, hugging it close to her. "So even when you're not here, Jade is still with me."

Jade had no idea what to do next. The smaller bear was still in her hand. She was currently toying with the bear's ears and paws with her thumb and index finger.

"Yours." Sophia reiterated, touching the stomach of the smaller bear. "What are you gonna name her?"

Jade could see in the child's eyes that she wanted her to name the smaller bear after her so that they could match.

"Um," Jade felt incredibly stupid right now, but for the moment, she decided not to care. "I think I'll name her Sophia. So I have something to remember you by."

Sophia sort of smiled.

"When are you gonna take me to your home, Jade?" The little four year old asked, toying with the ears of her new gift.

"I don't know." Jade answered, playing with Sophia's hair.

"Are you going to take me to your home, Jade?" Sophia questioned, still staring at her bear, but her voice was uncertain.

"I will. I don't know when, but I will."

* * *

**Please do tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best! **


	3. Chapter 3

"Jade?" Beck stood awkwardly by the doorframe of their room, his pillow in his hands. He resisted the urge to run his hands through his hair; he didn't want to set his wife off again.

Jade was already under the covers, her back facing him. She knew that he would eventually cave (he always did), but she was apprehensive. She didn't want Sophia living in their home without Beck wanting her for real. She knew that it was a tough decision for him, but the little girl who was currently in the orphanage doing who knows what that stole her heart was, and is probably one of the most important people in her life.

In her hands was the little teddy bear that Sophia had so eagerly given Jade. She ran her thumbs across the textured velvet, smiling a bit.

Beck hesitantly moved towards Jade, spooning her. His hands were on her waist, and he took this time to gently bury his nose in her hair, letting himself be intoxicated by his wife's scent.

"I've done a lot of thinking," he started. Jade suppressed a huff. She placed the teddy bear on the bed side. "And I'm on board with adopting Sophia."

"Took you long enough." she grumbled, not bothering to face her husband. Beck moved Jade's hair away so that he could lightly brush his lips against his wife's nape. It sent shivers down her spine, and she didn't even bother trying to hide the small moan that came out.

She missed this.

"I thought about what you said, and I really am sorry for saying that she's broken," Jade cringed at the word. "when she's not. I know that you don't let people in so easily, so I should've noticed that by then when I saw the way that you looked at her."

Jade knew all along that what Beck was saying was true, but hearing it sounded alien to her. She wasn't one to voice out her emotions (oftentimes leading to a somewhat frustrated Beck), and she knows that's something she's ought to change.

"She's just . . . different, and I love that. She's so polite and smart and amazing. But she's got baggage, and I'm willing to carry that." Jade turned to face her husband. She traced circles on his chest, not bothering to look up into his eyes. Beck looked down at his wife and kissed her forehead.

"She won't be easy." She warned him.

Beck grinned, saying the words that he told his friend back in high school. "Easy's boring."

Jade hid her smirk by planting feather light kisses on his collarbone.

"Jade, we're a tag team." She rolled her eyes at how cheesy it sounded. With a boyish grin, he continued, "I'm serious. And I know that I can learn to love Sophia just as much as you love her now."

She didn't object.

"I've missed you," Jade admitted quietly. It was rare when Jade would voice out what she felt, and every time she did, Beck tried his best not to ruin the moment.

"Then you shouldn't let me sleep out on the couch every time we fight." He smirked, running his hand lower, already caressing her ass.

"Not a chance, buster." She grinned, kissing him deeply. She managed to maneuver her way on top of him, and then whispered in short, deep breaths, "Take me, now."

He didn't have to be told twice.

* * *

Every other day, Jade manages to visit the orphanage despite her busy schedule. As of this month, she had to juggle writing two new scripts for the TV show that she worked on, keeping the house clean and doing the paperwork for Sophia's adoption. Today, she brought lunch for the both of them. Beck had promised that he would come with her to visit the next time she went, making Jade look more forward to it.

"Lunch time, you little runts!" Jade heard the senior citizen yell the moment she entered the place. Children started screaming and squealing to get to the dining area. When the front desk area was cleared, she saw a familiar face crawling towards the same place, not even bothering to notice Jade because she was too determined to get there quickly so as not to get her meal stolen . . . again.

Jade noticed that she had a string bag on her back, and the head of her bear was peeking out, making Jade smile a bit.

"Nu-uh, baby girl." Jade grinned, picking Sophia up from the floor mid crawl. Sophia was about to argue when she saw who picked her up.

"Jade!" She squealed, her arms wrapping around her neck.

"I was thinking we'd eat lunch together. I brought food." Jade said, pointing at the paper bag that was on the floor.

"Let's eat in my room." Sophia smiled. She didn't care about reaching the Dining room now. "I'll show you where."

Balancing Sophia on one arm, she picked up the paper bag with the other and headed towards the girls' wing.

"Where?"

"The last one, right there." she pointed towards the end of the hall. Jade tried to hide her anger for the sake of Sophia; she shouldn't be there. I hope the paperwork comes quick, she thought.

She walked towards the door and was less than impressed with her room. There was a thin, lumpy single mattress on the floor, some dirty bed sheets and a pillow, but no blanket. There was a cardboard box for her clothes, and her other things were on the floor.

Jade put Sophia down and crawled towards her bed. She patted the seat beside her, motioning Jade to sit next to her, and she obliged without hesitation.

Jade took the food out, three plastic containers filled with steaming hot food and some dessert in a mini cooler.

"Mashed potatoes with gravy, pasta and chicken. Dig in, Soph." Jade smiled, handing her and a spoon and a fork. She needed the calories. Before she could touch the food, she asked what was in the closed container.

"It's dessert; ice cream." Jade smiled when she saw Sophia practically vibrate with happiness.

"God, thank you for the food, and thank you for Jade for being so nice to me. Amen." Sophia whispered, loud enough so that Jade could hear, before attacking the food that she's only ever heard of.

"Amen." Jade whispered, making sure that Sophia wouldn't hear.

Sophia didn't talk since she was too busy stuffing herself with food. Jade just watched on, wondering how much this child in front of her could actually hold.

She was able to eat at least half of each container, with the exception of the chicken (she wasn't too keen on meat, Jade found out), and then shyly asked for dessert.

Smiling a bit, Jade took out the ice cream and gave it to her, also handing her a new spoon. While Jade listened to Sophia moan about tasting ice cream for the first time, she started eating the chicken that Sophia barely touched, with the interval of a spoonful of mashed potatoes.

When Jade was done eating, she saw that Sophia was scooping her last spoonful of ice cream. She caught Jade's gaze and grinned sheepishly, offering the spoon to her, but she declined. Smiling, much more cheekily now, she devoured the last spoonful greedily.

"Did you make all of that? It was soooooo good!" She grinned, lying down on the lumpy mattress. "I never eaten so much!"

"Sit back up. You'll get a tummy ache." Jade told her, holding her back for support. She didn't try hiding the motherly instinct that she didn't know she had until she found Sophia. "Yeah, I made all of that, except for the ice cream. I'm glad you like it."

Jade cleaned up the containers and put them back in the paper bag before wiping Sophia's face and hands. All the while when she was doing this, Sophia was just staring at her.

"What's the matter? I got something on my face?" Jade asked, disposing of the tissue and lying down on the bed. It didn't even feel like a mattress. It was just a thin piece of foam separating her and the cemented floor.

"You said not to lie down." Sophia didn't answer her question.

"10 minutes have passed. Lie down with me, Soph." Jade told her, and she obliged. Jade wrapped her arms around her small frame, pulling Sophia closer. She wasn't going to lie, but Sophia did not smell very good. But she didn't mind.

"I love you, you know that?" Jade started, feeling as awkward as she did when they first met. "I promise to take care of you, to provide for you, to give you everything you need, everything you want."

"I love you, too." Sophia said, kissing Jade's cheek. "but I gots you. You're all I need, Jade."

Jade smiled, hugging her closer.

"You're like a momma, Jade." Sophia told her shyly. This was something that was inevitable. Jade had thought about this moment, not at all mentioning this to Beck.

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm. Can I call you momma, Jade?" She asked innocently, even batting her eyelashes at Jade to make her crack. Not that she even needed to. She had Jade treading on the ground she walked (or more appropriately, crawled) on, and she didn't even know.

Jade pulled Sophia's head to her chest, kissing her forehead repeatedly, trying to keep the tears at bay as she whispered, "Yes, Soph. Yes, you can."

"I love you, momma," Sophia said adoringly, looking up at Jade.

"You too, baby girl. I love you so, so much."

* * *

**This may probably be the last chapter of this story, but I'm not so sure. Please do tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Just sit down, will you? Trust me on this one, you'll like this." Beck told Jade, leading her towards their living room. She had a blindfold on (which took Beck a good fifteen minutes to actually put it on and reassure her that nothing too drastic is going to happen), and was currently holding on to the arm of the couch.

She hated not knowing anything.

"Can I guess?" Jade asked, now leaning back against the couch, her arms crossed. Beck sat on the coffee table in front of her, grinning smugly. He looked to his side and silently chided Sophia to keep her giggles down.

"Sure, shoot."

"BDSM." She said dryly, her expression obviously blank despite the covered eyes.

Beck's eyes widened. "Oh, God, no."

"Aww."

"What's that?" Sophia mouthed to Beck, and he just shook his head rapidly.

"Hmm, is it a bunny?" She asked lamely.

"Nope."

"Homicide."

"And why would I kill you?"

"Role play? Some sort of interrogation scene? I didn't know you were into that."

Beck face palmed at his sex-crazed partner. Sophia didn't understand anything of what they're talking about, so she just listened on.

"Hmmph." Jade huffed, probably hearing her husband's smacking of palm to forehead. "Am I supposed to go down on you right now? Because this is sort of turning me on."

"JADE!" Beck nearly yells, covering Sophia's ears but didn't do so for long when he saw Jade's hands groping the air, blindly reaching out for his belt. He held her hands and kissed her knuckles before placing them down on her lap.

"Figures. I give up. What is it?" Beck looked down on Sophia and grinned, mouthing, "You ready?"

Sophia nodded, grinning enthusiastically.

"Alright. Hold your palm out." Beck told Jade, and she complied quickly, wanting to get this over with.

"If this is some kind of sick joke, Beckett, I swear, I'll—,"

"It's not. Promise." He cut her off midsentence, pecking her lips to seal the deal.

"Alright, can you guess what this is?" Beck asked, leaning down and moving her hand to rest on top of his head. At this, she immediately moved her hand around, scratched his scalp a bit, and then clenched her hand gently around his locks.

"It's your fat head." Jade answered, not at all caring about her husband's self-esteem . . . or the gradual depletion of it. Sophia tried to stifle her giggles by putting both her hands over her mouth.

"Thanks, Jade. That makes me feel so good about myself." Beck remarked goodheartedly, taking her hand off from his head and sitting upright.

"I live to please."

"Alright, how about this one?" It was a soft blanket, still slightly dampened from Sophia's drool (she was sleeping when Beck brought her home).

"Vega's panties?" Jade joked, though she knew she was incorrect.

"Not by a long shot. Guess again."

"Wait, why is this wet?" Jade asked, proceeding to take off her blindfold but Beck pulled it down immediately so as not to spoil the surprise.

"Water?" Beck offered, glancing at Sophia. She smiled cheekily.

"I give up." Jade said, holding the blanket out for Beck to take. Instead of Beck, Sophia took the blanket from her hand, making sure that she doesn't touch her.

"Alright, last one."

"Finally."

Beck placed Sophia on his lap, and with his hand on her arm as a guide, placed her hand on Jade's. She wrapped her hand around two of her fingers, making Jade's eyebrows shoot up and her bottom lip quiver.

"Oh my God, Beck, you did not," Jade gasped out, ripping the blindfold from her eyes. Sophia was looking at her the whole time, a shy but beaming smile on her face. Jade grinned back slightly and ran the pad of her thumb back and forth on Sophia's fingers.

"Hi, Momma." Sophia grinned, and her hand that was not holding Jade's reached out to her. Jade complied with the silent request and transferred her on her lap. Beck was still not used to what Sophia had calls his wife, not even knowing what they had done to create such a strong bond over a span of five months.

"How? I mean, it's just, the fact that she's here is just, I just can't," Jade rambled, incoherency taking over.

"Remember that document I told you to sign? The one that I told you that you were to be contacted in case of emergency?" Jade racked her mind for anything even remotely connected to what he was saying, and then it dawned on her.

"Those were the adoption papers?" Jade asked, flabbergasted. She berated herself on not reading the papers; Beck knew her too well. She was running through a course of emotions. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise." Beck said, wringing his hands together. Jade looked at him for a good solid minute, and then looked down at Sophia, who was currently playing with the promise ring dangling from her neck.

"Pretty." Sophia commented, inserting her finger through the ring, slightly disgruntled that it wouldn't fit properly on her.

"And you made me look so stupid guessing." Jade commented with her voice low, referring to earlier when she was spewing out all of these inappropriate things that a four year old should NEVER be exposed to.

"Alright. Since you kept this little darling from me, I guess it's fair to say that I've kept something from you, too." Jade said, standing up with Sophia balanced on her hip. "Come on."

They walked towards the guest room –or Jade's room, as Beck calls it, since that's where she sleeps when she needs some time alone— that was located right in front of the master's bedroom. Jade gave Beck the keys for the door, and when he opened it, he was shocked to say the least.

* * *

_It was the day when Beck was going to come with Jade to the orphanage. It was ironic, how his wife goes there around three times a week when he was the one who practically had to drag her in there in the first place. _

"_Come on, Beck! The food's going to be cold if we don't get a move on now!" Jade yelled, already walking towards her car. She placed one of her wool blankets in the backseat before sitting on the driver's seat, turning the heater on. It was only November and the cold, chilly winds have already come. Beck didn't have to yell back; he was already running outside, slightly afraid of Jade's wrath. _

_The minute the door of the passenger's seat closed, she hit the gas pedal and started to burn rubber. _

"_Babe, slow down, she isn't going anywhere." Beck said, not even aware of the double meaning his words had. Jade opted to ignore the other meaning and started to drive slower, but still 5 km/ph faster than average. _

**~o~ ****  
**

_They entered the orphanage during lunch time, so the area was deserted since all of the children were in the dining area. _

_Jade, already knowing the place like the back of her hand, went to the dining area and saw that everything was a ruckus. The children were loud and noisy, but they were all chewing on food. They looked sort of strange with their coats on; this place probably didn't have a heater. _

"_Quiet, you little dipsticks." The senior citizen yelled, and then children immediately grew silent. "We have visitors." _

"_Good afternoon," the kids chirped altogether, like a well-oiled robot. _

"_Hey. Where's Sophia?" Jade asked, looking around from where she was standing, but no trace of brown pigtails and grey eyes were found. _

"_She's in her room." One boy spoke up, something that looked like gruel sputtering out. Jade noticed the kid as the chief of Operation: Decapitate Bear. "'Cause she's a loser." _

"_Yeah!" Other kids piped up, and then continued to carry on talking trash about Sophia. _

"_Shut up, you little maggots! If I ever hear you talking shit again about that girl, you're going to get it." Jade announced in a menacing tone, with a matching glare, and scissors in her hands to top off the cake. A few (well, most) cried, a few pissed in their pants and/or panties, and a good handful of them fainted. _

_Spinning on her heel, she made her way towards Sophia's room, with Beck towing closely behind. _

"_Don't tell me that was too harsh for those little fuckers. That's our future daughter they're talking about." Jade said when Beck put his arm around her waist. _

"_I'm not. I'm just saying that Sophia's going to be so lucky with you her mother." Beck praised, kissing her temple. _

"_I know." _

_Jade knocked on the door of Sophia's room. "Soph, are you in there? It's," Jade contemplated on this for a short while, shooting Beck a worried glance before continuing, "It's momma." _

_Beck's eyes almost bulged out of his head in shock. _

"_S'open." Sophia's voice said from the inside. Opening the door, Jade saw her huddled up in the middle of her bed, wearing a sweater and the cotton bed sheet was around her shoulders. Beck was too busy soaking in the room that she was in. _

_While Beck was still looking around disappointedly, Jade took off her jacket and wrapped it around Sophia, leaving her in her black thermal turtle neck. "Here you go." _

_Since it had been worn in, the jacket was warm and toasty, heating Sophia up a good deal. _

"_Are you hungry? I brought lunch again." Jade said, placing the blanket on the mattress. With an eager smile, she nodded her head. Beck sat down on the foam bed, Sophia in the middle of him and Jade. Sophia eyed him warily; she met him before. She just didn't know his name. _

"_Soph, this is my husband, Beck. Beck, you already know Sophia." Jade introduced the two, taking the food out. _

"_Pleasure to meet you, m'lady." Beck faked a British accent, making Sophia giggle. He held his hand out jokingly for her to shake, and she took it with a shy smile, his large hand easily covering her small one. _

"_Your hands are big," Sophia commented, and then referenced cheekily, "like my father's."_

_Jade smiled as she opened container after container and asked, "You know RENT?" _

_Sophia nodded, "It's head mistress' favorite."_

'Mistress' must be the senior citizen who ran the place, _Jade thought. _

"_A four year old who references RENT. I love this kid!" Beck said, kissing the top of Sophia's head, making her giggle. _

"_I do, too. Now let her eat." Jade lightly chided Beck, and he mock saluted her, making her roll her eyes and her husband's antics. "Soph, I've got mac and cheese and some clam chowder. Beck, we're sharing turkey on rye." _

_They ate silently, Sophia showing forkfuls of pasta like there's no tomorrow. She managed to devour half of the container, and three fourths of the soup. _

"_Is there dessert?" Sophia asked shyly, smiling a bit. _

"_I've got hot chocolate." Jade told her, taking out a thermos and a small mug. She poured the drink up until halfway of the mug before giving it to Sophia. _

"_Careful, baby. It's hot." Jade warned softly. Beck's eyebrows shot up, not only at the endearing pet name, but to the way his wife's been acting the whole time that they've been here. _

**~o~**

"_When you take me home, will I have a room?" _

_The three were currently lying down on the small foam mattress, Sophia wedged in between Beck and Jade. _

"_Of course you will. But we have to know what you want it to look like." Beck said, looking down at Sophia, smiling a bit. _

"_I really like light purple. Can my walls be light purple?" She asked to the both of them. Beck's arm was draped around the two girls, his hand resting on his wife's waist. Jade's hand was tracing circles of Sophia's belly, finding out that it was appeasing to her._

"_Sure they can. Anything else?" Beck answered, wanting to hear more input. _

"_Can I have nice sheets?" She asked them, shyly this time. _

"_You'll have the warmest sheets so that you won't get cold." Jade whispered tenderly to Sophia, now resting her hand on her small stomach._

"_That's it." She whispered, and then yawned. "Thank you." _

"_You're welcome, baby. Here, I brought you this," Jade reached down to get the blanket. "I know it's not much, but it'll definitely keep you warm until we bring you home." _

"_When?" She asked tiredly. Jade draped the folded-twice blanket over Sophia, tucking her in like she's been doing it for years. Beck rolled away from the two, watching his wife and future daughter interact. _

"_Soon, Soph. Soon." Jade answered. She stood up, but not before kissing her forehead and whispering, "Sweet dreams. Love you, bug." _

"_Love you, momma." She mumbled before slipping into a deep, warm sleep. _

_The minute she stood up, Beck caught her in a passionate kiss and saying, "You're so amazing with her." _

_Jade looked down as she gathered the containers and placed them back in the bag. "It's nothing." _

"_It's not 'nothing'. I'm serious, babe. You treat her as if she was your own flesh and blood. You've got so much love to give, Jade, and I'm glad that you're giving her the love that she deserves." _

* * *

The room was how Sophia had wanted it and more. The walls were a gorgeous shade of lavender. The bed was a four poster queen sized one with a pink princess canopy, and then sheets were also a light shade of violet. In addition to what Sophia had wanted, she also had her own book case, already filled with a few children's classics, as well as some select books that Jade has chosen out.

"Do you like it?" Jade asked, nervous of Sophia's reaction.

She didn't really have anything to be nervous about, since Sophia squealed and giggled in excitement, hugging Jade's neck tightly.

"Mine?" Sophia whispered to Jade's collar bone, only her eyes looking up.

"All yours."

* * *

**Hey, guys. Since you wanted another chapter, here you go. It's extra long, so I hope you like that. I am so amazed at the response this story got, and I really want to thank each and every one of you for reviewing, and adding this to their favorites and their alerts. **

**Please do tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best!**

**Happy New Year, everyone!**


	5. Chapter 5

"No, baby, wash your hands first." Jade told Sophia as she spotted her reaching out for a chicken leg.

It's been a week since Sophia was brought home, and needless to say, it's been a good week in the Oliver household. The once cold and quiet atmosphere was now replaced by frequent little giggles and occasional laughs and animal sounds from a certain wide eyed little girl.

"Okay." Sophia said, hobbling off of the low chair and crawling towards the sink. "Momma, up!"

"Sure, hold on," Jade said, placing the final plate on the table before accommodating to her daughter's needs.

Her daughter.

It still gave her an instant whiplash every time she referred to Sophia as hers, but there was also this feeling of pride and love that tended to overshadow the fear of messing her up like how her parents did to her.

Seeing that Sophia was done, Jade continued to carry her to her seat in the dining room. She never minded carrying her (since she never wanted her to have her hands dirty or fear that she might step on her), but she always wondered when she could possibly walk again.

Once seated, Sophia asked politely, "Can I have some food now, momma?"

"Sure, bug. Dig in."

Dig in, she did.

* * *

Beck was away, but for an entirely different reason. He told Jade that he was off to run some errands, and he wasn't really lying.

He found himself parked in front of the best pediatric center in the country. Sophia's papers in hand, he walked in the place. He debated whether or not to put his shades back on since the place was too bright for his taste, but he chose not to. Nurses weren't fawning over him; that was a first (but he quietly appreciated it).

He placed Sophia's folder on the front desk.

"Hey, good afternoon. Um," Beck wasn't too sure on what to say.

"Good afternoon to you too, sir." The lady behind the desk tried to lighten him up a bit.

"Yeah, um, you see, my wife and I just recently adopted, and she couldn't walk. The owner of the orphanage said that she was paralyzed from the waist down but her records never stated any of that." Beck explained, gaining a little bit of confidence.

"So you want us to see if she'll be able to walk again?" The lady said, leafing through her files. "Oh, poor baby. Have you seen this picture?"

He certainly had seen it. And he's not so willing to see it again.

"She's not exactly paralyzed, from as far as I can tell." The lady said. "I'll forward you to a physical therapist; she's the best one we have. I'm praying for you little girl." She continued, walking out from behind the desk and towards the hallway.

"Thank you." Beck said, following the lady.

~0~

The silence was deafening.

"Well, I can assure you, Mr. Oliver that based on what I've read, she is not paralyzed. She's been held down since she was very young, so she never got to use her legs for what they were used for. With some medication and physical therapy, I believe that we can get her walking in no time." The therapist said, scanning through Sophia's file.

Beck's heart was absolutely pounding right out of his chest.

"Thank you, oh God, thank you, doc." Beck took the therapist's hand and shook it with his two hands almost violently, his tears almost spilling over. She just smiled and gently slid her hand from Beck's iron grip.

"Here, I'm setting you up for an appointment in two days so that I can check her vitals," She said, writing it down (neatly, if he may add) on the prescription paper. "Once that's cleared up, we can start with the therapy."

"How long will she be doing this, though? I don't want to stress her out. I want to keep this a secret from my wife; I want to surprise her." Beck said.

"Well, ain't that sweet," The therapist gushed. Beck looked at her nametag and saw that her name was Rose. " But I'm more than sure that she's going to find out sooner or later, so you better watch out for that."

"Noted."

"So, I hope to see you both two days from now. Have a nice day." The therapist smiled warmly, and Beck couldn't help but grin in return.

With the news that he was given, how could he not?

* * *

"Momma," Sophia yawned, curling closer to Jade's side. "When's he comin' home?"

Jade was currently propped up against the headboard with Sophia's head on her chest. Sophia's arm was draped around her waist, tracing the lace pattern on her top. Jade's hand was on her daughter's back, rubbing small circles to drowse her.

By 'he', she was referring to Beck. Sophia didn't take too quickly to Beck as quick as she did with Jade, but Beck never minded. He was respectful enough to give her space and he knows that she'll eventually warm up to him.

"He'll be home soon." Jade reassured her, running her hand through her hair.

"Momma," Sophia asked again, but this time, she was looking intently at Jade. "Will you teach me to read?"

Jade's heart wrenched. She's always been keen about having a good education. With a small, tight lipped smile, she nodded in agreement.

Sophia pushed her luck even farther. "Can you teach me how to write too?"

"Of course."

"Thank you, momma." She yawned, and then slid down under the covers. Jade tucked her in tightly, not wanting her to fall, but Sophia was quick to react.

"No! Too tight! Too tight!" She screamed bloody murder, yanking the comforter out of the way. Tears quickly made an appearance and she pulled her legs close to her, curling up in a small ball as she sobbed, silently chanting, 'no more, no more'.

Jade had no idea what to do now.

"Soph, baby, I'm really sorry; I didn't know," Jade said, hesitantly touching her back. Sophia flinched at the contact but she kept her hand there anyway. She rubbed her back soothingly, inching closer to her until she felt that it was safe enough to place her on her lap.

She rocked Sophia to and fro, wiping her tears and whispered sweet nothings and apologies in her ear. "Momma's very sorry, baby. Stop crying now, shh…"

Beck just got home, and this was the first thing that he sees. He shoots Jade an apologetic look, silently asking what's going on. Jade mouths, 'I'll tell you later'.

She eventually got Sophia to stop her sobs, but all of the energy she exerted in crying apparently knocked her out. She carefully placed Sophia back on the bed, on top of the comforter now, and placed a thin blanket on top of her, making sure not to tuck her in anymore. She kissed her forehead, lingering a bit before standing up and going to Beck.

"Hey, she was looking for you." Jade greeted Beck, kissing him quickly.

"Yeah?"

"Yup. She freaked out when I tucked her in too tightly, though. I had no idea what to do." Jade admitted, obviously still shaken up.

Beck understood.

Beck led Jade to their room. He made Jade sit down on their bed first before he did anything else.

"Don't tell me you're making me guess something again." Jade joked, but when she saw Beck's demeanor, she straightened up, all traces of humor gone. "What's going on?"

"This is Sophia's file. You might want to look at it." Beck said, handing his wife the envelope. She braced herself for what she was going to see. Don't get her wrong, she loved these kinds of things, but when it came to her daughter, it was a whole different story.

The first page showed the usual. Sophia Hawkins (now Oliver). Four years old, born on December 25, 2008. Brown hair, grey eyes.

But the next few pages were a little different. They showed the picture of the house she used to live in before she moved to the orphanage. There was a picture of her in the crib, her eyes were covered with a handkerchief and her wrists and legs were bounded by duct tape. Another picture showed one where a man was feeding her rotten food.

Newspaper clippings about how she was rescued.

Jade couldn't take it anymore. She slammed the folder shut and threw it across the room.

"Babe," Beck said, trying to come close.

"Why didn't you show me this earlier?" Jade asked, trying to sound angry (because she was), but her voice broke.

"I only got it last week when I took her home from the orphanage. I meant to tell you earlier but you were too busy with Sophia." Beck didn't say sorry; he had no reason to.

Tears sprung to her eyes when she realized the gravity of what she did earlier.

"Oh God, she had an episode earlier," Jade voice out her epiphany as she let the tears roll down. Beck sat down next to her and let her cry into his chest. "How could I have been more stupid?"

"You didn't know," Beck tried to soothe her.

"She's probably traumatized by now. Oh, God, what if she won't like me anymore, Beck? What if she'll hate me tomorrow morning?" Jade prattled on, heaving out the tears.

"She loves you too much to even try to dislike you, Jade. Trust me on this one." Beck put his finger under Jade's chin to make her look at him. "Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

**Hey guys. So, here's another installment of Your Guardian Angel. Thank you, iShipElavan, for your loyalty to this story. It touches me very much. I would also to thank all of you who reviewed this story and also to the people who added this to their favorites and alerts. I am grateful for all of you. **

**Please do tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I did my best to research about physical therapy, but please do bear in mind that the information here may not always be 100% accurate.**

**With that, read on. **

* * *

"This is it," Beck mumbled to himself as buckled Sophia up in her car seat. Jade was called in for an urgent meeting for the show, leaving Beck to take care of everything. He didn't mind though; it was the least he could do for everything his wife's done.

"Where are we going?" Sophia asked shyly from her car seat. She liked Beck, there was no question about that. It was just that she was just still adjusting to him.

"We're going to the doctor." Beck said, starting up the engine.

"Why?"

He started driving. "Promise me that you won't tell mommy about this, okay? I want you to surprise her."

At the mention of her adoptive mother, she quickly agreed wholeheartedly.

"We're going to go to the doctor because they're going to help you walk again." Beck said. He peeked at his daughter through the rear view mirror and saw that she had an ear splitting grin plastered on her face.

"Really?" her voice now coming off with a tinge of hope.

"Yea, Soph. But remember to not tell mommy, okay?" He said as he parked the car. He quickly made his way out to unbuckle Sophia from her car seat and proceeded to walk inside the hospital with her in his arms.

"Can't you or momma teach me to walk?" She asked innocently, resting her head oh his shoulder.

"We would if we knew how to, Soph." Beck answered curtly. He made his way to the front desk, flashing a small smile at the person who helped him two days prior. "Hey, um, we have an appointment with Doctor Rose," he started, lifting Sophia a bit higher on his hip, making her giggle at the quick motion.

"Oh, yes, she's been looking forward to meeting this little princess these past few days. Just go directly to her office," the lady behind the desk said, her eyes displaying nothing but hope for the child in Beck's arms.

"Alright, thanks."

He made his way towards the physical therapy part of the hospital, knocking on the door where he was led to two days ago. A muffled voice from inside said, 'Come in'.

"Hiya, doc," Beck greeted informally, sitting down on an open chair before taking off Sophia's coat and then his. He hung both on the back of the chair where he was currently sitting.

"Hello to you too, Mr. Oliver-,"

"Beck. Please call me Beck." he said, the formalities making him rather uncomfortable.

"Alright, Beck. So, I guess that little girl on your lap is Sophia." She said to him, and then bent down to Sophia's level so that she could see the child eye-to-eye, "Hello there, angel. My name's Doctor Rose, how are you?"

Being the shy little girl that she is, gave a thumbs up to tell her that she's alright, and then added for good measure, "Fine, thank you."

"What about your mommy? Where is she?" Doctor Rose asked her, although she knows that this whole process was to surprise the child's mother.

She perked up at the mention of Jade. She told Doctor Rose to come closer so that she can whisper in her ear, "Momma don't know I'm here. He said it's a surprise."

"He? Do you mean your daddy?" Doctor Rose asked, slightly weirded out that she didn't refer to her father as . . . well, her father. Sophia nods, and to prove her point further, planted a small kiss on Beck's cheek. Touched at the motion, Beck proceeded to kiss Sophia everywhere on her face, making her laugh a good deal, and at the same time lightening the atmosphere in the room.

"Alright, I'm going to have to do some routine check-ups to see if she's healthy for her age. Daddy, you're going to have to help me on this one." Doctor Rose said to Beck, and he nodded in agreement. Doctor Rose checked her height and weight (wherein she had to lie down for both), her sight, her hearing and her breathing.

"She seems healthy; a little underweight, though, but I'm sure that could be fixed easily." Doctor Rose commented. "Do you eat a lot, Sophia?" She nods immediately.

"Mm-hmm. Momma cooks the bestest food in the whole world!" Sophia boasted. To some people, she might have looked like she was exaggerating, but in the Oliver household, it was something that simply could not be denied. Doctor Rose smiled at this, and sent a thumbs up to Beck, silently telling him to keep Sophia's appetite up.

"Alright, Miss Sophia, would you mind showing me how you usually get around?" Doctor Rose asked politely, sitting down on the chair across Beck. Sophia looked up at Beck for permission and without a word, set her down on the floor. She moved towards Doctor Rose, her legs dragging limply behind her. Once she reached her doctor, she maneuvered her way to a sitting position, smiling cheekily at her father across the room. Beck took a picture of Sophia while she was doing that, grinning at how adorable she looked.

"Hmm, okay. Beck, would you mind placing Sophia up on the bed here," Doctor Rose said, and Beck complied by swooping Sophia up in a Superman manner, making her squeal and laugh heartily. Once she was on the table, Doctor Rose told Beck to take off her boots and socks, which complied to as well.

"Alright, Miss Sophia, do you think you can wiggle your toes for us?" Doctor Rose asked. Sophia did it without a problem.

"How about your feet? Do you think you could jerk it?" She asked. Sophia concentrated but couldn't seem to do what she was asked to do. She shook her head after a minute of futile attempts.

"Beck, you're going to have to pay attention, okay? Sophia will be coming here during Mondays and Wednesdays. When she's not here doing the exercises which we will start doing next meeting, I want you to do these leg stretches and exercises on her at home. It helps with the blood circulation, also for the overall strengthening."

Doctor Rose proceeded to do a series of bends and stretches on Sophia's legs and feet, alternating from the right and left. She asked Sophia if it hurt anywhere, but all she replied was that it felt weird.

"When should I do these? Is there like a time when I should do these on her?" Beck asked, taking note of what the bends and stretches are called on his phone.

"I'd give it around three times a day, maximum, so as not to irritate her that much. When she wakes up, around an hour after she eats lunch, and then before she goes to bed. If you're still adamant about not letting your wife into this, you're going to have to do this on your own. If you have a baby sitter or someone whole looks after her, then I recommend that you teach this to her as well."

"Alright, noted. Anything else I should know about?"

"Make sure she's up on her health. Make sure she doesn't skip meals, and let her have a healthy snack in between. But other that that, just the exercises."

"Alright."

As Beck was putting on his coat, Doctor Rose helped Sophia sit up on the bed and Beck put on her coat before picking her up. "I'll see you on Monday, angel. Be good for daddy whenever he'll do the stretches I did on you, okay?" Doctor Rose said, and Sophia nodded.

"Alright, um, where should I pay?" Beck asked awkwardly, and a doctor arose just smiled and ushered him out of her office.

"When everything's done, that's when you'll pay."

* * *

"Honey, we're home!" Beck announced dramatically once he got inside the house. When he was pulling up, he saw that Jade's car was parked in the driveway, so that must've meant that she came home early.

"Where have you guys been?" Jade asked as she came from the kitchen, taking Sophia from his arms and kissing him quickly on the lips.

"From the park!" Sophia said, covering up her therapy session. "We exercised."

"Did you, now?" Jade said, her eyebrows rising, doubting what her daughter was saying.

"It's true." Beck backed his daughter up. He kissed Jade on the lips for good measure.

"Fine. But look at what you did, though. She looks exhausted." Jade chided Beck, and as if on cue, Sophia yawned and rested her head on her mother's shoulder, her eyelids feeling heavier every second. "I'll let her nap for a while; be right back."

As Jade slowly made her way up the stairs, Beck watched how she would bounce and sway lightly on every step, making sure not to jostle her in her sleep. She was humming a soft tune as well as she walked up to their daughter's room.

Beck grinned as he snapped a picture of the two.

_This is going to be so worth the wait. _

* * *

**Hey guys. Sorry for the extremely long wait. Thank you for the massive response for this story. It's surreal. **

**Please do tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best! **


	7. Chapter 7

This was the moment of truth.

Weeks have passed, and Beck had been doing the leg exercises religiously on Sophia, just as Dr. Rose prescribed. There were times when Sophia was fussy about them since it made her legs feel extremely weird, but once reminded that this could be a chance at walking, she complied without another complaint.

There were also times when Beck would almost be caught by Jade doing the stretches, but he immediately disguised it as playing by him taking her feet and tickling and biting them jokingly, making the three of them laugh.

"Hello again, Miss Soph! How are you feeling today?" Dr. Rose asked as Beck was setting her daughter in the all too familiar examining table.

"I feel like I'm gonna walk today!" Sophia chirped happily, grinning at the thought of being able to do what the other kids were doing.

"Well, let's just hope that today'll be the day. Daddy, her shoes?" Dr. Rose said to Sophia first, and then to Beck, who was already taking off her boots.

"Gosh, Soph, that stinks!" Beck joked as he took her socks off, scrunching up his face and waving his hand to rid of the 'stench'. Sophia laughed heartily as she lifted her foot up for Beck to smell – on her own. Beck's eyes widened as he saw her accomplish this small feat, then proceeded to pepper kisses all over Sophia's face, much to her delight.

"Someone's ambitious." Dr. Rose remarked with a smile, writing down her progress. "Alright, Miss Soph. Let's do the usual. Can you wiggle your toes for me?"

Sophia did so without any difficulty.

"What about jerking your foot? Can you jerk your right one for me?" Sophia jerked her left one, still not knowing which one is which. "What about your other one?" She jerked the right one.

"Do you think you can raise you leg up a bit, like what you did earlier?" Dr. Rose asked. Sophia lifted one up tentatively before bringing her foot down to create a mountain with her leg. She did the same with the other.

"My, my, Miss Soph. You've improved a lot! Daddy must've done a really good job with the stretches, didn't he?" Dr. Rose said, propping Sophia up so that she would be sitting up. She let her feet slide so that her legs were flat on the table once again.

"Alright, we're going to try something, alright? Beck, do you think you could stand her up? Hold her around her waist." Dr. Rose said, and Beck immediately complied. He was in a squatting position, his arms easily supporting his daughter's whole body.

"Look, baby girl, you're standing up!" Beck whispered in Sophia's ear, kissing her temple. Sophia grinned a mile wide, looking down at her feet that, for the first time, are planted firmly on the ground.

"Alright, now very carefully, I want you to take one step at a time." Dr. Rose said. "Hold on to daddy's arms if you need any help. He'll be right there to catch you."

"Dr. Rose, I don't think I can keep this from my wife any longer. Do you mind if I call her and wait for her? I mean, I really don't want her missing this." Beck said, picking Sophia up and sitting down on a chair, setting his daughter on his lap.

"If you wish." Dr. Rose smiled as she went out of the room to give the two some space.

Beck pressed speed dial number 4 and waited for his wife to pick up.

"_What do you want?" _Jade asked, obviously chewing on something because her voice came out muffled and sort of unclear.

"Hello to you too, babe. Hey, I was just wondering if you can come by the children's hospital—" At the mention of this, Beck heard a plate or a glass break from the other end of the line.

"_What the hell happened?!" _Jade huffed, her voice panicky as she rushed to her car.

"Babe, I promise you, it's nothing fatal. You're actually going to be happy about this." Beck said calmly, bouncing Sophia on his lap.

"_Tell me, how can I be happy if my baby's in a hospital?!" _Jade almost screeched. Beck heard the car door slam and the engine start from the other end.

"Just, come over. Sophia is not injured or harmed in any way. Just come over. It's the one right across the—"

"_I know where to go. I'll see you in 15." _Jade grunted as she cut her husband off the line.

* * *

Jade busted in the room where Beck and Sophia (as well as Dr. Rose) were, and she didn't take any time at all to get to Beck and snatch Sophia from his grip, immediately checking for scars and bruises.

"Baby, what happened? Did you get hurt?" Jade asked frantically, kissing Sophia's forehead repeatedly and hugging her close to her body.

"I told you, babe, she's fine. She's just got something to show you." Beck intervened, kissing Jade's temple and pulling her to sit down on the chair that he was sitting on. Beck took Sophia from Jade and walked to the other end of the room.

"Do you think you could record this, Dr. Rose?" Beck asked politely, handing her his phone, and she took it willingly.

"Alright, we'll start again. Just one leg at a time, alright?" Dr. Rose prompted, Beck's phone camera already recording.

Sophia let out a shaky breath. "Don't let me fall, daddy. Don't let me fall."

Beck's heart basically leaped with joy. For the first time in months, she actually called her daddy. Beck kissed her temple as he tightened his hold on her. "I've got you, baby girl."

With Beck in his squat position and his arm tightly wrapped around her waist, he urged his daughter to move forward. "Come on, baby girl, just like when you were showing me your stinky feet. Only this time, you're standing up. Come on, lift it up," Beck said, supporting her first step with his hand.

"There we go! Alright, second step. Do you think you can do it on your own?" Beck asked. With a determined face, she took a second wobbly step on her own. She swerved a bit, but it was still a step.

"You're doing so good, baby girl. Look, you're making momma cry." Beck whispered in her ear. At that moment, Sophia looked up from her feet and saw her mother sitting down, now on the floor, with tears going down her eyes.

"Can you walk to me, Soph?" Jade asked in a trembling voice, not at all caring about who would see or not. With a newfound inspiration, Sophia took another courageous yet wobbly step forward. With Beck's guidance, she was able to inch her way about a foot from Jade. Beck released his hold from Sophia and she walked tiny quick steps on her own before tripping over Jade, who caught her before she could fall flat on her face.

"Did you see me, momma? Did you see me walk?" Sophia's tone was exhausted yet accomplished. Her arms were around Jade's neck, and she was standing in front of Jade with her hands standing her up.

Jade nods, a few more tears slipping from her eyes. "I did, baby. You made me so proud."

"Then when I can walk on my own I can run and play and people can't make fun of me now." Sophia grinned, sitting down on her mother's lap.

With a sentimental smile, Jade nods. "That's right, Soph." Jade looks up, and saw that Beck was just watching them in his kneeling position. "So he's been helping you walk this whole time?"

"Mm-hmm. Daddy's been stretchin' me every day." Sophia grinned, kicking her feet back and forth.

"You've got to stop keeping secrets from me." Jade said as Beck sat down next to her.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Beck teased. "You know you love me, anyway."

"Mm-hmm. Sure." Jade shot back without any malice, and then looked down at the small girl who was now dozing off. Sophia yawned cutely and snuggled deeper into her mother's embrace.

"Come on. Let's go home."

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

**Thanks guys, for your never ending support for this story. I really do hope that you've appreciated it, despite it being really short (and that it's been written in long intervals). **

**Please do tell me what you think. Wishing you all the best! **


End file.
